"Must a people disappear for us to know they exist?" -- Mano Dayak (1949-1995)

In Recognition of the Genocide

This website is dedicated to the hundreds and thousands of Tuareg men, women, and children, including many whole families, who have suffered and died over the past several decades, as a result of the deliberate exclusionary practicesthat have deprived the Tuaregs of critically needed food relief, medical care, and development. Governments have sought to silence the Tuaregs' legitimate complaints, through intimidation, arrests, rape, torture, extrajudicial execution and massacres, and to isolate them from the media and from humanitarian aid. HERE IS A TRIBUTE to the Tuareg people who have bravely continued to struggle for justice. May their voice be heard by the whole World.

February 11, 2012

It has been over a week now since Tuaregs in Mali began running from the hostilities that engulfed their homes. The numbers were up to 60,000 people a few days ago, and rising -- half of them internally displaced. Population figures for Tuaregs in Mali are very difficult to calculate accurately for many reasons, but 60,000 may be close to 80-90% of the entire Tuareg population in Mali.

The media keep advertising the rebellion as the main reason that people had to leave. But there were many important contributing factors that had been brewing for a long time before the rebellion started in mid-January. The hostilities that generated militias, mobs, looting, and even genocidal actions have been developing over a long time.

At the base, Mali is a poor country, largely desert, and basic food and land resources are scarce for many people -- even though the country has significant energy resources. Climate change and droughts have increased the problems for subsistence farmers, and especially for pastoralists trying to survive in the expanding desert. The past year has been particularly difficult because of recurrent drought and famine. The social inequalities that have plagued Mali since Independence have not been solved; they emerged in the colonial era and have persisted. Corruption exists in every country; but it has the most disastrous effects in countries such as Mali where people are deprived of development because of it. Major world powers and corporations are actors in this crisis, too.

All of these things are contributing factors to the crisis in Mali.

Rebellions are something that people do when they cannot do anything within a system to improve their dire situation. We do not want to pass judgment one way or the other, but it is important to understand the big picture that explains why people are doing what they are doing. It is important to recognize all of the factors that have contributed to the refugee situation. The refugees had to run because they were helpless in the face of all these factors. They need water and food right now -- but they need much more than the means to survive. They need to find a way to go home and return to normal life, with dignity. And they need to feel safe, and protected from hate and hostility.

Ultimately, it's going to take resolution of some of these other factors. There are some things that people cannot change -- for example, the long-term climate change that is affecting farming and pastoralism. But people can change the way they are making decisions about other things. The people at the bottom have little power to effectuate any major change. What is needed is a change of direction on the part of government leaders, major world powers, and corporations. Change must come from the top.

(Summary, in English)Jeune Afrique (Baba Ahmed) Interview with Assilakane Ag Intereouit, president of the regional committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)1. 30,000 internally displaced refugees in Mali, including:2. 26,000 are around Menaka (region of Gao)3. 4,000 are around Aguelhok (region of Kidal)4. an undetermined number are around Timbuktu5. an undetermined number are in the open desert without water and food6. The situation is critical7. Red Cross is conducting census of displaced people around Tessalit; this will inflate the numbers8. Red Cross first does a census before intervening with aid9. At Aguelhok, the Red Cross has distributed: 4 tons of cooking oil, tomatoes, lentils, pasta, and also: blankets, mats, and mosquito nets [to protect against malaria]10. At Tessalit, the Red Cross has distributed: warm winter clothing for the children, and cooking oil11. What is most urgent:12. We need: medicine for headaches, palpitations, fatigue, stress13. We need: medicine for the prevention of epidemics14. At Kidal: the situation in the refugee camps is alarming15. At Tessalit: the situation is alarming, especially 25 km south of there where the population has gathered, and there is nothing there16. The Algerian border: 2,000 displaced of the Al Khalil group, 18 km from the border17. At Aguelhok: 4,000 people are installed in 4 locations around this ghost town18. At Timbuktu: the situation is similar to Aguelhok19. In the open desert: some make-shift refugee camps are in the open desert20. Red Cross has freedom to move around and go to displaced populations, and this is a very good thing21. Malian government: has donated 10 tons of grain in Aguelhok, and 3 tons in Tessalit, but it is far from being enough22. [Red Cross] "I suppose that the state [Malian government] has slowed its aid because of the upsurge in fighting."

It has been over a week now since Tuaregs in Mali began running from the hostilities that engulfed their homes. The numbers were up to 60,000 people a few days ago, and rising -- half of them internally displaced. Population figures for Tuaregs in Mali are very difficult to calculate accurately for many reasons, but 60,000 may be anywhere from 60-80% of the entire Tuareg population in Mali.

The media keep advertising the rebellion as the main reason that people had to leave. But there were many important contributing factors that had been brewing for a long time before the rebellion started in mid-January. The hostilities that generated militias, mobs, looting, and even genocidal actions have been developing over a long time.

At the base, Mali is a poor country, largely desert, and basic food and land resources are scarce for many people -- even though the country has significant energy resources. Climate change and droughts have increased the problems for subsistence farmers, and especially for pastoralists trying to survive in the expanding desert. The past year has been particularly difficult because of recurrent drought and famine. The social inequalities that have plagued Mali since Independence have not been solved; they emerged in the colonial era and have persisted. Corruption exists in every country; but it has the most disastrous effects in countries such as Mali where people are deprived of development because of it. Major world powers and corporations are actors in this crisis, too.

All of these things are contributing factors to the crisis in Mali.

Rebellions are something that people do when they cannot do anything within a system to improve their dire situation. We do not want to pass judgment one way or the other, but it is important to understand the big picture that explains why people are doing what they are doing. It is important to recognize all of the factors that have contributed to the refugee situation. The refugees had to run because they were helpless in the face of all these factors. They need water and food right now -- but they need much more than the means to survive. They need to find a way to go home and return to normal life, with dignity. And they need to feel safe, and protected from hate and hostility.

Ultimately, it's going to take resolution of some of these other factors. There are some things that people cannot change -- for example, the long-term climate change that is affecting farming and pastoralism. But people can change the way they are making decisions about other things. The people at the bottom have little power to effectuate any major change. What is needed is a change of direction on the part of government leaders, major world powers, and corporations. Change must come from the top.

-- Barbara Worley, Ph.D. Anthropologist, the University of Massachusetts at Boston